Asir Says 'Hidden Intentions' behind Nasrallah's Call for Protests
The Imam of Sidon's Bilal bin Rabah mosque Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir criticized on Tuesday Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's call for protests to denounce the anti-Islam film, considering that he has “hidden intentions” behind it.
“The Innocence of Muslims film insulted the Sunnis and Shiites,” al-Asir said in an interview with al-Joumhouria.
He is expected to hold rallies in Sidon after Friday's Muslim prayer.
However, he noted that Nasrallah is trying to exploit the incident to show the masses that support him.
“His call on all Muslims to take the streets is an attempt to kidnap the leadership of Muslims and predominate Wilayat al-Faqih,” the Salafist cleric noted.
The initially obscure "Innocence of Muslims," produced in the U.S., has been cited as one of the main instigators of riots that have killed 17 people across the world.
The movie mocks the Prophet Mohammed and portrays Muslims as immoral and gratuitously violent.
Al-Asir wondered why Hizbullah's chief didn't call for such rallies when “the prophets of freedom were killed in Syria.”
Nasrallah held on Monday the United States responsible for ensuring the halt of the airing of the movie.
The Hizbullah leader announced on Sunday that the party will hold a series of rallies against the film throughout this week.
“We strongly denounce Nasrallah's stances regarding the crisis in Syria,” he added.
Hizbullah is a strong ally of the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad that has been faced with revolt since mid-March 2011.
Al-Asir lashed out at the violent reaction by Muslims in the northern city of Tripoli, describing it as a “hasty and emotional.”
“Those men disrespected Islam more than serving it, they acted irresponsibly,” he stated.
One person was killed and 25 wounded over the weekend in the ensuing clashes between the protesters and the security forces as youths attempted to storm the Tripoli Serail in protest against the film.
The Salafist cleric said that he was the first to call for protests against the film mocking Islam, but he postponed it until Friday over Pope Benedict XVl's visit to Lebanon, which forced him to postpone it until Friday.
“We wanted to prevent anyone from exploiting our endeavor and creating sedition between Christians and Muslims,” al-Asir pointed out.
He described the three-day papal visit as “excellent.”
“The army proved that it can control the security situation on the ground, which indicates that it is ready to take control of all the security issues in the country,” al-Asir said.
He told the daily that all the army requires is “a political decision and a green light from all politicians.”
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://cdn.naharnet.com/stories/en/53922 |